Rishi Sunak is even campaigning against his own housing policies

It has been barely a couple of weeks since we witnessed a gargantuan swing away from the Conservatives towards Labour in Tory strongholds. July saw Selby and Ainsty turn red in record breaking fashion, along with Uxbridge and South Ruislip becoming within clutching distance at least for the next General Election. This comes all despite the fact Sir Keir Starmer advocating planning reform and putting forward policy proposals that would allow, god forbid, homes to be built on the green belt.

Once thought to be an untouchable holy grail, now it has been picked up and run with by Starmer following breaking the taboo following Indiana Jones-esque challenges to push it up the agenda. In turn, Sunak has since found himself on the ropes of public opinion when it comes to housing. The issue has not only risen up the agenda in terms of what would help the public decide their vote, but Sunak has since found the Conservatives floundering behind Labour on what party has the best policy on housing. Recent polling has seen 15-point swing in Labour’s favour. It would appear policies put forward by Anthony Breach, most recently discussed on Politics Joe’s Pubcast, are beginning to reap some rewards.

Notwithstanding the above, Lisa Nandy has also recently come out swinging in defence of Right-to-Buy, stating it is unacceptable to deny working-class people the chance to buy their homes. And quite right too. There is no way Keir Starmer could ever stand by his ambition to make Labour “the party of home ownership” if it kept Corbyn’s previous commitment to abolish Right-to-Buy. Such mechanisms give a genuine transfer of wealth from the state to the working class, allowing social mobility and a way and means to reduce wealth inequality. Hip hip hooray!

On other Labour pressing matters, the paramount importance of swift bricks was on the agenda for Matthew Pennycook, following a debate on the mandatory inclusion of swift bricks in new developments. It is worth noting that Brighton and Hove Council made swift bricks mandatory in all new buildings above 5m in height in order to help the birds that migrate for nine months of the year 14,000 miles from Africa without touching land nest here in the UK.

While the precise number of swifts in the UK is actually unknown, the RSPB and Hannah Bourne Taylor’s Feather Speech Campaign brought the 100,000 signatory petition to parliament based on estimates the population has halved since 1990. The proposal was eventually turned down by Government. While we must inevitably do more to ensure more screaming parties of swifts continue to breed on our shores, ham fisting such requirements through building regulations most come with an err on the side of caution.

After all, lest we forget the bee brick row that ultimately found evidence similar forced initiatives resulted in potentially doing more harm than good. To that end, the Government’s ultimate position rested on the fact local authorities have the powers to decide whether to do this anyway, while accepting not all buildings could be suitable. The campaign has previously been advocated by MP for Bristol East Kerry McCarthy back in 2020, which ultimately faced a similar outcome.

It appears both the swifts and Brits are finding themselves in a housing crisis under the Tories. This comes as no surprise given Sunak was found to attack his own policy of building 300,000 homes a year in the recent Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election. Yet, as pointed out by Sam Stafford in his recent blog titled “Planning Reform Week”, the Prime Minister has announced they will meet their “manifesto commitment to build 1 million homes over this Parliament”. Yet as Sam pointed out this merely amounts across a 5-year term to only 200,000 homes a year. A full 100,000 short of Boris Johnson’s 2019 election pledge.

Sunak also found himself in a “tone deaf” interview recently on LBC, where he was described as being “as emphatic as a robot with dead batteries”. The cavernous gap between the Prime Minister and the general public was clear for all to see, as he knocked back Jack, a caller who was highlighting his additional £1,000 a month mortgage plight resultant from the rising interest rates. Sunak replied with deflection, citing national averages where the increase was only £200 a month, while completely downplaying the struggles the likes of Jack are facing.

More evidence of the Conservatives being Sunakered on housing was Rishi’s decision to announce an intervention on housing in London. Ironically, it hasn’t been that long since the Planning Inspectorate demanded Sadiq Khan – reduced – yes, reduced, his housing targets. Citing concerns over the credibility of his small sites policy, as well as his failure to include a review of Green Belt. Housing starts in the capital have indeed waned as the back peddling of planning reform by the Conservatives has created significant uncertainty in the planning system.

Meanwhile, existing affordable housing schemes have come under criticism. With many now setting out minimum salary requirements, which prevent those on low ages to even be eligible to apply. I recently debated this issue on TalkTV’s Jeremy Kyle Show Live with Rosie Wright, where I highlighted the absurdity of the situation caused by this government’s failure to build.

In more depressing news, Michael Gove, the de facto Housing Secretary, has found himself refusing to meet with housebuilders on matters concerning the industry, instead putting what is left of his political capital with the NIMBY backbenchers. The Home Builders Federation Chairman Stewar Baseley told POLITICO that “the government’s increasingly anti-development and anti-business policy approach is driving down housing supply and has considerable social and economic implications”, while also accusing Gove of capitulating to Conservative NIMBYs. Quelle surprise.

So with a NIMBY Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and a Prime Minister who campaigns against his own housing policies, belittles the general public, and actively announces missing election pledges – the Tories appear well and truly Sunakered on housing for now.

Christopher Worrall is a housing columnist for LFF. He is on the Executive Committee of the Labour Housing Group, Co-Host of the Priced Out Podcast, and Chair of the Local Government and Housing Member Policy Group of the Fabian Society. 

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